The Bank of Japan publishes the summary from its monthly monetary policy meetings some time after the actual meeting. These meetings are held to review economic developments inside and outside of Japan and decide the central bank’s monetary policy. The minutes usually come out late, at least a month after the meeting, but give detailed insight into the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision making process.

Markets tend to focus on the key points discussed during the meeting that might suggest future interest rate changes. If the Bank of Japan is cautious about the inflationary outlook for the economy (characterized as “Hawkish”), then the market sees a higher likelihood of future rate increases. If the Bank is optimistic (“Dovish”) it suggests to markets that inflation is in check and that future rate increases are less likely.

Markets will discount some information in the report because of the lag in the release of the notes. The focus will often be on what the Bank deems as key points that could suggest future interest rate changes. For example if the minutes state that high energy costs and a rapidly expanding housing market are fueling inflation, then markets participants will tend to monitor these key sectors closely in order to gauge the likelihood of a rate increases in the future.